The temporary shaping of hairstyles for an extended period of up to several days generally requires the use of setting active ingredients. Hair treatment agents that are used for temporarily shaping the hair therefore play an important role. Such agents for temporary shaping typically contain synthetic polymers and/or waxes as the setting active ingredient. Agents for assisting with the temporary shaping of keratin-containing fibers may be provided as a hair spray, hair wax, hair gel, or hair foam, for example.
The most important property of an agent for temporarily shaping hair, also referred to below as a styling agent, is to provide the strongest hold possible for the treated fibers in the reshaped form, i.e., a shape that is imparted to the hair. This is also referred to as a strong hairstyle hold, or a high degree of hold of the styling agent. The hold of the hairstyle is determined essentially by the type and quantity of the setting active ingredients used, although there may also be an influence by the other components of the styling agent.
Styling agents must meet a number of requirements in addition to a high degree of hold. These requirements may be roughly divided into properties on the hair, properties of the particular formulation, for example properties of the foam, gel, or sprayed aerosol, and properties that affect the handling of the styling agent, with particular importance being accorded to the properties on the hair. These include moisture resistance, low tack, and a balanced conditioning effect in particular. In addition, a styling agent should preferably be universally usable for all types of hair, and be mild on the hair and skin.
In order to meet the various requirements, a number of synthetic polymers as setting active ingredients have already been developed for use in styling agents. The polymers may be divided into cationic, anionic, nonionic, and amphoteric setting polymers. Ideally, when applied to the hair the polymers result in a polymer film which on the one hand imparts a strong hold to the hairstyle, but on the other hand is sufficiently flexible not to break down under stress. If the polymer film is too brittle, this results in so-called film plaques, i.e., residues that come off when the hair moves and give the impression that the user of the styling agent in question has dandruff. Similar problems arise when waxes are used as a setting active ingredient in the styling agent. If the styling agent is a gel or a paste, the polymers should also have thickening properties.